Time to Celebrate Many Things




By Rick Cadden
Associate Pastor Columbus Avenue Baptist Church
As I grow older I find myself with a stronger desire to celebrate life events more and more. For me, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and holidays seem to take on more significance each year. Life is just too short to not celebrate and take joy in milestones in your life. One thing I enjoy the most is celebrating as a family! I have three wonderful grown children now, two of which have given me grand children. Our family has grown exponentially over the past seven years with six incredible grand children. So, for us our family celebrations have become big events and a lot of fun.

On major celebrations like Christmas, Mothers Day, and Easter we have even started inviting extended family to join us and celebrate together. The more the merrier we say! You may be wondering why I included Mothers Day as a major celebration. Hopefully you have heard the old wise saying, :If momma ain’t happy, then ain’t no one happy”. A smart married man will celebrate big on Mothers Day.

The week from Psalm Sunday to Easter Sunday is full of events that need to be celebrated and lead us to Easter. I think for many families these events may get overlooked and we tend to celebrate Easter Sunday only by going to church and thanking God for His son dying on the cross for us and celebrating his resurrection. Let’s look briefly at the events of Holy Week. Psalm Sunday is when Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The children and adults waved psalm branches and laid them down at his feet as he arrived. On Monday and Tuesday that week Jesus spent time in the Temple cleaning it of those desecrating it and debating the religious leaders. On Wednesday Jesus gave hiss last public sermon called the Olivet Discourse. On Thursday Jesus celebrated his last supper with the disciples. That day is called Maundy Thursday since Maundy in Latin means “command”. That night at supper, Jesus gave his disciples a new command to love and serve one another. He illustrated that by washing the feet of the disciples. Good Friday follows and is the day that Jesus was crucified. It is called Good Friday because of the good that came from his death, burial, and resurrection. Saturday was a holy day and Sunday is Easter that we celebrate Jesus being raised from the dead.

For our family, living in separate cities, we celebrate those events on our own and then Easter weekend we make it a family time all together at our house. Starting Friday they all start arriving to our house. This is where we celebrate as a family with games, activities, and lot of meals together. Our house is flooded with people and it will get chaotic and crazy, but so much fun and life! I mentioned that my kids are all grown adults and their own families but one thing we still do all together is color Easter eggs. From kids to adults, we even have the neighbors come judge the best eggs. My kids will not miss the coloring of eggs. We talk about family traditions and enjoy having everyone all together. Everything we do is a teaching moment for the kids telling the story of Jesus and how he died for each of us and how God raised him from the grave and that Jesus is alive in Heaven with God.

So how do you celebrate Easter? I believe it is a time of focus, reflection, and celebration of what Jesus did for you and me. Take some time and plan your celebration now making sure that your family is included. If you don’t have family around you, then attend a worship service at the church down the street and celebrate with that family of believers. Check with your church and see what events are planned for Holy Week and participate. What ever you do on Easter, give God the glory and the honor and the love from your heart!